Roll cleaning brushes for rolling mills

ABSTRACT

ROLL CLEANING APPARATUS FOR A ROLLING MILL COMPRISES FOR EACH WORK ROLL A ROTATABLE BRUSH MOUNTED ON DISPLACEABLE CARRIERS, THE CARRIERS ARE DISPLACED BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH THE BRUSH IS IN BRUSHING RELATION WITH THE ROLL AND A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH THE ROLL IS AWAY FROM THE VICINITY OF THE ROLL. THE BRUSHES MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE CARRIERS WHEN THE CARRIERS ARE IN THE SECOND POSITION THE CARRIERS ARE PIVOTABLE ABOUT FIXED PIVOTS AND WHEN BOTH WORK ROLLS HAVE ROLL CLEANING APPARATUS, THE CARRIERS OF ONE BRUSH ARE PIVOTED ABOUT THE MILL HOUSINGS AND THE CARRIERS OF THE OTHER BRUSH ARE PIVOTED ABOUT THE CARRIERS OF THE FIRST BRUSH. THE CARRIERS OF THE TWO BUSHES MAY BE CONNECTED TOGETHER AND THE CARRIERS PIVOTED TOGETHER ABOUT THE MILL HOUSINGS.

Nov. 2, 1971 c. E. SMITH 3,616,668

ROLL CLEANING BRUSHES FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Nov. 26, 1969 '4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR CYmL Euwm Sun-H HENRY C.. Wes-rm ATTORNEY Nov. 2, 1971 c. E. SMITH ROLL CLEANING BRUSHES FOR ROLLING MILLS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 26, 1969 INVENTOR mu MT 5 S W E C mw R N a C ATTORNEY Nov. 2, 1971 c. E. SMITH ROLL CLEANING BRUSHES FOR ROLLING MILLS 4. Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 26, 1969 'NVENTOR YRU. EDwm SMrrH HENRY C. W 5

ATTORNEY NOV. 2, 1971 c, s H 3,616,668

ROLL CLEANING BRUSHES FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Nov. 26, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Y YFUL Ebwm Swum H E NRY C. ESTIN ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofi ce 3,616,668 Patented Nov. 2., 1971 3,616,668 ROLL CLEANING BRUSHES FOR ROLLING MILLS Cyril E. Smith, Ringwood, England, assignor to Loewy Robertson Engineering Company Limited, Dorset, England Filed Nov. 26, 1969, Ser. No. 880,245

Int. Cl. B21b 45/02, 27/04 US. Cl. 72-40 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Roll cleaning apparatus for a rolling mill comprises for each work roll a rotatable brush mounted on displaceable carriers, the carriers are displaced between a first position in which the brush is in brushing relation with the roll and a second position in which the roll is away from the vicinity of the roll. The brushes may be removed from the carriers when the carriers are in the second position. The carriers are pivotable about fixed pivots and when both work rolls have roll cleaning apparatus, the carriers of one brush are pivoted about the mill housings and the carriers of the other brush are pivoted about the carriers of the first brush. The carriers of the two brushes may be connected together and the carriers pivoted together about the mill housings.

The invention relates to roll cleaning apparatus for rolling mills and is particularly concerned with rolling mills having such apparatus.

With the recent increased demand for rolled strip particularly aluminium strip having a high standard of surface finish, the use of roll cleaning apparatus has become a necessity on rolling mills producing material of this quality. Such apparatus usually employs brushes which are rotatably driven. The wear rate of the wire bristles of the brushes is generally high. These bristles are usually on the periphery of a hollow drum which is mounted on flanges secured to a chain driven brush shaft.

Because of the weight of these branches, changing of the bristled drum is a difficult operation. It involves disconnecting the chain drive to the brush and withdrawing the brush shaft while the brush itself is supported, usually by slings from an overhead crane, after which the brush can be removed by the crane and replaced with a new brush. This operation is made difficult because of the proximity of the brushes to the rolls of the rolling mill, and the only satisfactory method of changing the brushes involved removing the work rolls themselves to enable the brushes to be reached by the operator. This increased the time necessary for the brush changing procedure.

According to the invention, roll cleaning apparatus for a rolling mill includes a brush mounted on displaceable carriers so that the brush may be removed from the vicinity of the mill rolls without immediate detachment from the carriers. When so removed, the brush may be changed with relative ease.

Thus the brush for each work roll may be arranged on carriers which are pivotally mounted in such a manner that they may be swung away from the vicinity of the rolling mill rolls.

Two brushes may be provided, one for each of the top and the bottom work rolls, and the top brush carriers may be pivotally mounted to the carriers for the bottom brush, the latter carriers being pivoted about a fixed shaft or stud. In normal operation the top brush carriers may be secured in position to the mill housing, for example by a bolt. To position the brushes ready for removal the top brush carriers may be rocked about pivots on the bottom carriers and the two pairs of carriers secured together. After this, the two pairs of carriers may be together rocked about further pivots to bring both the brushes into a position conveniently removed from the rolling mill rolls.

The invention will be more readily understood by way of example from the following description of a rolling mill with cleaning apparatus, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a view partly in section showing the cleaning brushes in their operative position,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but having the brushes positioned ready for removal,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing on larger scale the brush carrying arrangement, and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing an alternative embodiment of the invention.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, work rolls 2, 4 and back-up rolls 6, 8 are mounted for rotation in bearings in a window 10 of a rolling mill housing 12.

The roll cleaning apparatus including brushes 14, 14' are provided for maintaining a high degree of finish to the work rolls and hence to the strip being rolled. The brushes comprise barrels 16, 16 which have wire bristles around their outer periphery. At each end of, and in one with, the barrels there are flanges which are bored to receive shaft-s 18, 18, about which the brushes freely rotate. At one end of each brush a chain wheel 19 is secured to one of the flanges so that as the chain wheel is driven the brush rotates with it.

Referring to the top cleaning brush arrangement, the shaft 18 has its end releasably but non-rotatably mounted in the front portion of slides 20. Each slide is reciprocatable in guideways 22 on a carrier 24. One of the slides carries at its outermost end portion a chain wheel 26, and a chain 28 passes around chain wheels 19 and 26. The chain wheel 26 is driven through a universal joint 30 and a shaft 32 by a motor and gearbox (not shown) secured to a bracket mounted on the mill housing 12.

The brush is maintained in contact with its appropriate work roll by means of two pneumatic cylinders 34, each of which is pivoted by a lug 36 on a different carrier 24. A slot 38 is formed in the slide 20 through which the lug 36 projects. The cylinder 34 has a piston rod 40 acting against a lug 42 on the slide 20 to ensure that the brush is pushed against the work roll. The carriers at the two ends of the brush are rigidly connected by two tie rods 44 bolted at their ends to the carriers. Lugs 46 on each of the carriers 24 are provided with holes 48, and bolts pass through these holes and are screwed into the housing posts to support the carriers 24 during normal brushing of the work rolls.

The bottom brush is similarly constructed and supported in bottom carriers 50. Both top and bottom carriers have plates 52, 54 which act as guides for the strip material entering between the work rolls.

An upwardly depending lug 56 on each bottom carrier provides a pivot 58 for the top carrier. To further lugs 59 on the bottom carrier are connected the ends of piston rods 60 of piston and cylinder units 62, and actuation of the piston and cylinder unit causes the lower carrier to rock about pivots 64 secured in the mill housings; only one such lug 59, piston rod 60 and unit 62 are shown in the drawings.

The top carrier plate 52 is provided with pads 66 through which are drilled bolt holes alignable with similar holes 68 in the bottom carrier plate 54.

The operation of removing the roll cleaning brushes is as follows:

With the brushing gear in position as in FIG. 1, the

weight of the top brushing unit is first taken by an overhead crane and the cylinders 34 are relieved. The bolts are then removed from the housing through holes 48 in lugs 46 and the entire top brush unit is lowered until the pad 66 rests on the plate 54. Bolts are then passed through the holes 68 and the top and bottom carriers are bolted together to form an integral unit.

The position of the top brushing unit at this stage is shown in chain line in FIG. 1. The drive to the chain wheel 26 through the universal joint 30 is uncoupled and the chain removed from the chain wheels. Piston and cylinder units 62 are next actuated to rock the entire brushing gear about pivots 64 until it takes up the position shown in FIG. 2 with the brushes uppermost.

The brushes are supported by slings from the overhead crane while the shafts 18, 18' are withdrawn axially leaving the brushes free to be lifted away by the crane. Assembly of a new set of brushes takes place in reverse order.

It will be seen that the exchange of brushes when the brushing unit is in the retracted position as shown in FIG. 2, is a far simpler and quicker operation than when the work rolls had to be removed to allow for access to the brushes.

In the embodiment of the invention described above, the brush cleaning apparatus is positioned on. the entry side of the mill, which is usual for the last mill stand in a tandem mill. For the other stands of a tandem mill it is preferable to mount the roll cleaning apparatus on the outgoing side of the mill. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 4.

The roll cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 except for the manner in which the brush carriers are mounted on the mill housing. Referring to the upper work roll cleaning apparatus, the brush carriers 24 are mounted on brackets 70 which are pivoted about fixed pivots 72 carried by the mill housing. The carriers are spaced apart by tie rods 77.

Each bracket has an opening through which extends a bolt 76 to bolt the bracket to the housing when the cleaning apparatus is in use.

The bottom Work roll cleaning apparatus comprises a pair of carriers 24 secured beneath a strip guide 7 8. The carriers are spaced apart by tie rods 82 and are pivotably mounted on fixed pivots 80 carried by the housing. When the brushes are in use the carriers rest on a positioning plate 81 secured to the housing.

The brushes 14, 14' are urged into contact with the work rolls by pneumatic cylinders 34 as in the previously described embodiment but in this case the lower cylinder has a somewhat longer stroke than the upper cylinder. The reason for this will be apparent below.

To remove the upper work roll cleaning brush, the bolts 76 are removed and a crane attached to a bar 84 carried by the carriers to rock the apparatus about the fixed pivot 72 in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 4 until the brush is lowermost. The brush is then supported either from below or by a crane whilst it is removed from its mounting shaft.

To replace the lower work roll cleaning brush that brush is first withdrawn from the roll, by means of the pneumatic cylinders 34 sulficiently far so that it no longer underlies the material stripper plates 85. Piston and cylinder unit 86 is then actuated to rock the lower carrier together with its brush assembly in an anticlockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 4) about the pivot 80 until the brush is uppermost and readily accessible. The brush is then supported whilst it is removed from its operating shaft.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a rolling mill having a housing and a pair of work rolls rotatably mounted in a window of the housing, separate roll cleaning apparatus for each work roll, said apparatus for each roll comprising a rotary brush extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll, the ends of the roll being rotatably mounted in a pair of spaced-apart elongate carriers extending normal to the longitudinal axis of the brush, means connecting said pair of carriers together, means for displacing the brush relative to the carriers in the direction parallel to the length of the carriers, means for pivotally mounting on the housing the carriers of one apparatus, means for pivotally mounting the carriers of the other apparatus on the carriers of said one apparatus, and means for displacing the carriers of each apparatus between a first position in which the carriers are substantially horizontal and the brush is in the vicinity of the roll within said window and a second position in which the carriers are substantially vertical and the brush is away from the roll outside of said window.

2. In a rolling mill as claimed in claim 1 wherein in said second position the brush is at the upper ends of the carriers.

3. In a rolling mill comprising a pair of spaced apart housings, a pair of work rolls supported at their ends in bearing chock assemblies carried by said housings, roll cleaning apparatus for each work roll, said apparatus for each roll comprising a brush mounted on a pair of carriers, said carriers being pivotable about fixed pivots between a first position in which the brush is in brushing relation with one of said rolls and a second position in which the brush is away from the vicinity of said roll, the fixed pivots for the carriers of one roll being provided on the mill housings and the fixed pivots for the carriers of the other roll being provided on the carriers of the first roll, and power means for pivoting said carriers together about the pivots on the mill housings.

4. In a rolling mill as claimed in claim 3, power means in the form of a piston and cylinder unit for pivoting said carriers about the pivots on the mill housings.

5. In a rolling mill as claimed in claim 1 wherein each brush comprises at least one barrel rotatably mounted on a shaft, and each barrel has bristles around its outer periphery.

6. In a rolling mill as claimed in claim 5 wherein said shaft is carried by said brush carriers and means are provided for rotating the brush relative to the shaft.

7. In a rolling mill as claimed in claim 6 wherein said means include a chain drive from power means to a pinion on said brush barrel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,880,622 10/1932 Williams 72-236 1,984,729 12/1934 Dahl et a1 72--236 1,994,691 3/1935 Dahl et a1 72-236 2,953,952 9/1960 Alexander 72-236 3,379,044 4/1968 Kirschner 72-236 RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner E. M. COMBS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 72--236 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, Dated Novembar 1971 InVentor(S) E. It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, after line 6, should read claims priority, application Great Britain, Provisional Application No. 56926 filed November 29, 1968 Signed and sealed this 31st day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOT'I'SCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents M PO'1O5OUD'S9) USCOMM-DC GO376-F'69 [1.5. GOVERNMENT 'R'NTING OFFEE I I915 5-36-l3l. 

